I used to be one of those girls who would get up extra early every morning just to “make myself pretty” or “put my face on.” Every day, I put on (at the bare minimum) foundation, eyeliner, and mascara. It only got worse in college. I would put on a full face every day. Foundation, concealer, eye shadow, liner, TONS of mascara, and always lipstick. I guess I thought, at the time, that it made me look better. I always got complemented by others. They would tell me, “lashes on point,” or “you look so pretty today.” It got to the point that I would wear makeup to my dance classes and to the gym. I knew I would end up sweating it all off, but I wanted to feel pretty all day. Every once in a while I wouldn’t put any on, but as soon as my dance class let out or I was done at my gym I would race back to my dorm so I could shower and put my face on.
Once summer hit, I started wearing less and less, but I was still putting in too much effort. My boyfriend then dared me to go a week without any makeup. He told me, "you’re beautiful without it, there’s no need." So I decided to accept his challenge. Let me just say that I didn’t do this to please him, I really wanted to know how I would feel going bare-faced for a while. Let me tell you, this was the most freeing week of my life. I had more time in the morning to do important things like sleep and have a balanced breakfast that didn’t consist of coffee and a banana. I LOVED my bare face. The longer I went without any makeup, the less I scrutinized my face and appearance. I would look in the mirror, and love my slightly dark circles that gave my face depth. I loved my natural lip color. I loved the slight unevenness of my skin color.
I really felt this way, and still do. But let’s be real. I am still a girly-girl at heart, and I love spending hours playing with makeup. Now it feels like I’m only doing it for me and not to appease anyone else. I put on makeup for myself on a day when I want to feel fabulous and special. I save it for special occasions only, and not as a daily ritual. So I encourage every girl out there to take a week and go bare! Post a picture every day of yourself without makeup with the hashtags #gobare or #bareface. You may hate it. You may NEVER want to do it again. But how will you know unless you try? It feels empowering and freeing to do something like that. Especially if you’re someone who feels like you need it. I promise you. You do NOT need it! I will also be posting pictures of myself without my makeup. So come on ladies! Let’s do this together! Let’s get empowered! We can do this!
